Vital Options International Names Healtheo360's David Duplay as Chairman, Courtland Long as Secretary

NEW YORK and ENCINO, Calif., Nov. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Healtheo360®, a web portal for people living with chronic health conditions, and Vital Options International, a cancer communication, education and advocacy organization, today announced that David S. Duplay, founder and CEO of healtheo360, has been appointed as chairman of the Vital Options International board of directors. Debby Bitticks, who has served as Vital Options chairman and CEO since 2013, will continue in her role as CEO.

The Vital Options board also appointed Courtland Long, MPH, vice president of marketing and community management at healtheo360, as its secretary.

Duplay and Long will oversee the launch of the Cancer Collaborative, a global information network to be established by healtheo360 and Vital Options International to provide live treatment news, policy updates, and support services to patients and caregivers via healtheo360's Internet, social media and broadcast channels.

The Cancer Collaborative will enable nonprofit organizations such as Vital Options International to reach a broader audience by disseminating news and information through healtheo360's multiple communications channels.

"I look forward to helping Vital Options enlighten, engage and empower cancer patients and caregivers," Duplay said.

Bitticks said, "Dave and Courtland will be focused on delivering Vital Options content to an ever-growing number of people and strengthening the bond between our two organizations."

Duplay founded healtheo360 in 2012 after his then 32-year-old sister-in-law, who was diagnosed with late-stage breast-cancer, had difficulty connecting with other patients in traditional breast cancer support groups, who tended to be much older and focused on dealing with a later stage of the disease. Using his technology experience, Duplay created a video web portal to enable his sister-in-law to upload her personal story and share it with others. He subsequently developed that portal into the healtheo360 video-sharing platform.

Duplay has over 20 years of healthcare, technology and marketing experience. He previously served as founder and CEO of MedTera, a healthcare marketing company, and as founder and CEO of New Colony Partners, a healthcare marketing and media company.

Long has over ten years of experience managing multi-channel marketing, social media and continuing medical education programs in established institutions as well as start-up entrepreneurial settings.

About healtheo360

Healtheo360 is a web portal for patients and caregivers seeking support and information about chronic health conditions.  This video-sharing online community is like a members-only "YouTube for Health" with many extra features. The videos enable users to share their stories face-to-face. Yet the focus is exclusively on chronic health conditions, and the proprietary technology that powers healtheo360 enables users to communicate within groups as well as through in-depth one-on-one conversations in a safe, firewall-protected environment.

Healtheo360 provides Virtual Social Therapy®, a set of online support services and original content that promotes real-time sharing of experiences and disease-specific knowledge. Healtheo360 delivers Virtual Social Therapy via a wide range of devices, including computers, iPhones and tablets, making it easy for users to peruse the stories of others just like them for inspiration, motivation, and support.

The premise behind healtheo360 is that people who are diagnosed with a chronic condition want to hear from others just like them to better understand what their future might look like, how to deal with the many challenges they could face, and feel less alone. To learn more about healtheo360, visit http://www.healtheo360.com.  Follow healtheo360 on Twitter at https://twitter.com/healtheo360, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/healtheo360, on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/healtheo360, and on Instagram at https://instagram.com/healtheo360.

About Vital Options International

Vital Options International (VOI) is a nonprofit cancer communication, education, and advocacy organization with a special mission: Generating global cancer conversations.  VOI was founded in 1983 by Selma Schimmel and since her passing in 2014, her lifetime work and legacy continues.

Today, through its Advocacy in Action®, Vital Conversations, and Living With Cancer platforms, Vital Options International continues to lead the most meaningful panel discussions and engaging one-on-one interviews about clinical trials, treatment advances, psychosocial issues, and access to care – all the vital challenges faced by everyone in the global cancer community.  Visit www.vitaloptions.org.

Media Contacts:

Russo Partners

David Schull           
(212) 845-4271 
(858) 717-2310 Mobile                                                 
[email protected]

Amiad Finkelthal
(646) 942-5626
(917) 217-1838 Mobile
[email protected]

SOURCE healtheo360

Related Links

http://www.healtheo360.com